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Smoke-Free Environment
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Smoke-Free Environments

Making Our Spaces Cleaner

Smoking isn’t just harmful to people—it’s devastating to the planet. Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world, with 122 tonnes of smoking-related litter dropped across the UK every day. From polluting our waterways to destroying forests, the environmental cost of smoking is far-reaching and urgent.

In 2019, cigarette butts were found on 79.6% of streets in Wales, making them one of the most pervasive litter problems in the country.

What We're Calling For?

  • Smokefree Outdoor Spaces

  • We want to see more smokefree policies in public spaces, such as parks, beaches, and playgrounds, to prevent cigarette litter and protect wildlife.

  • Strengthen Educational Efforts

  •  Educational initiatives in schools, workplaces, and communities are vital to raise awareness of the harm caused by smoking-related litter and encourage proper disposal.

  • Stronger Penalties for Littering

  • We support increased fines and enforcement for dropping cigarette butts, alongside accessible disposal options to reduce litter in public areas.

We want to see more smokefree policies in public spaces, such as parks, beaches, and playgrounds, to prevent cigarette litter and protect wildlife.

 Educational initiatives in schools, workplaces, and communities are vital to raise awareness of the harm caused by smoking-related litter and encourage proper disposal.

We support increased fines and enforcement for dropping cigarette butts, alongside accessible disposal options to reduce litter in public areas.

Why It Matters?

Cigarette Litter

Cigarette butts are not biodegradable. Each butt contains plastic filters and harmful chemicals such as arsenic, lead, and nicotine that can take up to 15 years to break down. These toxins pollute our land and water, endangering animals that may ingest them.

Wildlife Impact

Cigarette litter can be fatal to wildlife. Animals often mistake cigarette butts for food, leading to poisoning, starvation, or choking. A viral photograph of a bird feeding its chick a cigarette butt perfectly illustrates the heartbreaking consequences of smoking-related litter.

Deforestation

Tobacco farming is a leading driver of deforestation, with an estimated 200,000 hectares of forests and woodlands cut down annually to grow tobacco. This contributes to habitat loss, reduced biodiversity, and climate change.

Campaign Highlights

To mark No Smoking Day 2019, we partnered with artist Nathan Wyburn to create a striking portrait of Sir David Attenborough using cigarette butts collected from Welsh beaches. The artwork was unveiled at Barry Island Primary School, where students learned about litter and participated in a beach clean-up with Keep Wales Tidy.

The event highlighted the environmental damage caused by smoking and inspired action, with coverage on ITV Wales News.

Get Involved

If you’re interested in joining or organizing a litter pick, spreading awareness through social media, or supporting our campaigns to tackle smoking-related litter, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact us  communications@ashwales.org.uk or call 029 2049 0621.

Together, we can protect Wales’ natural beauty and reduce the environmental harm caused by smoking.

Download Our FREE Resources

We’d like organisations and individuals to share our environmental message and have a range of graphics which you can download.

English Social Media Graphics
Welsh Social Media graphics

Support Our Work

Support our campaigns to protect the environment from smoking-related harm and to provide education in schools and communities.

Donate